Perception of trusteeship in municipalities and its implementation: The case of Van-Muradiye Municipality

Trusteeship is among the recent phenomena in Turkey. Trusteeship, which is usually a subject of private law, is used for the purpose of administering a business and managing assets. However, it has also been applied in public administration by appointing trustees to municipal bodies. It has been noted that the practice ofing trustees to municipalities has been applied multiple times the central government, especially during coup periods and at different times for security reasons. The trusteeship practice, which has existed in Turkey for a very long time, has gained significant application, particularly after the attempted coup on July 15, 2016. In this context, governors and district governors have been appointed acting mayors by the of Interior instead of mayors who have been found to have links to terrorist organizations. The study examines the concept of trusteeship and the understanding of service recently implemented in the municipality system in Turkey, along with its scope and dimensions. An attempt has been made to develop a new perspective based on the identified deficiencies. The main aim of the study is to analyze the satisfaction level of the citizens with the services provided by Muradiye Municipality following the appointment of a trustee. In this context, a survey method has been developed in the study to measure the perceptions and satisfaction levels of citizens regarding trusteeship using quantitative data. According to the findings of the study, it is concluded that the majority of citizens are satisfied with the municipal services and staff under trustee management, the level of participation in the services provided by municipality is high, and there is a positive societal perception regarding the trusteeship implementation.